It's winter!

Hello Everyone,

Its winter and I am excited! It started snowing on the last week of November and according to the weather forecast, it will return later this week. I am therefore requesting that you keep checking the blog for photos of my first snowman.

The following are the things I have done since my last update:

1. I have continued giving presentations at the Rotary Clubs. I have now completed three presentations.

Giving an animated presentation

2. I have visited Nottingham and London! Both places were fun and I hope to visit London again... a day trip wasn't enough.

Christmas Market in Nottingham on a frosty day!

3. I made angels in the snow

My path to school covered in snow

My first snow angel

4. Visited the German Market in Leeds. The food at the market was tasty and I must admit that the German sausage is my new favourite! I wish everyone could experience it. It truly is festive.

5. Went to my first ballet, the Nutcracker at the Leeds Grand Theatre. The ballet was wonderful. I loved and will return to another ballet, I am even hoping to see an opera and I will certainly take you along for the experience.

6. Attended the Rotary Club of Roundhay Christmas Social. The social was loads of fun and got me in the mood for Christmas. The carols sung made me feel a bit nostalgic and allowed me to learn a few new ones too.

The month seemed to whiz by as I stayed busy with assignments and presentations. However, its now the holidays and I hope to see what will be in store for me.

Live, Laugh, Love

Shaniek

November is already here!

Hey guys and girls,

Its already been a month since I last updated you on life in Leeds. I am therefore going to condense all my exciting adventures in this post and strive to keep my promise of blogging fortnightly.

I can't believe that time has flown so quickly and it is already November. The deadlines of my assignments are looming, the days are shorter- literally, daylight lasts from 8am -4.30pm and its getting colder. I smell winter in the air and there is a 35% chance that we may have snow! I am extremely excited! 'Winter in Leeds', it has a nice ring to it :-)

This post will be somewhat sedate in comparison to September and the early part of October. However, I managed to do some exiting things. They are as follows:

1. Weekend trip to Birmingham- the trip was fabulous! The city is much larger and more diverse than Leeds extremely exciting. I made sure to visit all the sights in Birmingham, including the Midlands Museum which had an exhibition of the Anglo- Saxon Straffordshire Hoard. The hoard values £1.3 million was found by a gentleman using his metal detector in a field! Needless to say, I NEED to get a metal detector and keep my fingers crossed that I will find something of that magnitude.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2010/mar/23/staffordshire-hoard-anglo-saxon-grant

Birmingham's famous bullring

On top of the world :-)

2. I have had the opportunity of joining the Rotaract Club of Leeds, it reminds me of the Rotaract Club of Montego bay and all my crazy friends there.

3. I did my first Rotary presentation. It went well and was lots of fun.

I guess that it for this month. I had my first Halloween, attempted the Otley Run and met lots of people.

Looking forward to what the remainder November will bring.

Shaniek

An exciting update

Hey guys!

Much has happened since the last time I wrote! I have comfortably settled into Leeds and have learnt about the county of Yorkshire and some of what it has to offer. I have been to:

1. Harwood House- its a wonderful old house built in the 1800's which is still inhabited by the Queens cousin. The grounds are fabulous and it even has a bird sanctuary... I think that's what its called :-). Check it out at http://www.harewood.org/

2. Harrogate- I had the opportunity of going there for the Rotary 1040 District Conference. I spent most of the time at the conference and didn't view the city but I completely enjoyed it! I left the conference feeling inspired after seeing and hearing about all the initiatives that Rotary has been involved in to make the world a better place.

The following are some highlights from the conference:

Literacy in a Box Initiative

Trade Aid Box Initiative

Myself with my host counsellor, Mr. Richard Dickason

3. Roundhay Park- I had the opportunity to volunteer with the Rotary Club of Roundhay (my host club) to marshal a walk for the disabled around the park. The day was great fun and allowed me an opportunity to see a different part of Leeds. However, the I most enjoyed the opportunity to volunteer.. Oh, I almost forgot. I met the Mayor of Leeds :-)

Myself and the Mayor of Leeds

I guess that's all for now.

One Love,

Shaniek

Rotary Scholar's Link Weekend

On Friday afternoon I bid Leeds goodbye and jet-setted off to Oxford with Paige (other Rotary scholar studying at Leeds)on the train. It was the first train ride for Paige and I, we were not disappointed.

Paige and I during during our train ride to Oxford

Excitement was in the air as when we arrived in Oxford, albeit three hours later.

Upon arriving to Oxford the first thing that hit me was the overwhelming cold. I, assuming that it would be warm had dressed light ( a mistake I wont ever repeat).

We were met at the train station by a wonderful Rotarian. We were the escorted to be registered and meet our host family for the weekend. I had the pleasure of staying with Jan, she was wonderful! She brought me to a Thai restaurant for dinner and I had my first taste of Thai food, it was fabulous!

Saturday morning Jan treated me to a pancake breakfast- the British way with lemon and sugar. It had a refreshing tangy taste, quite different from the usual syrup. After breakfast she took me to the conference centre for the sessions. The sessions were informative, interesting and allowed me to meet other scholars. I felt humbled and inspired by the extent of the work of Rotary in the lives of many people across the globe and the fact that I was chosen as a scholar to assist in building awareness of this organization. Saturday afternoon had me doing unforgettable tour of Oxford University... again, I felt inspired but this time in the academic sense of the word.

Saturday evening the scholars and their hosts attended a barn dance. Its hard for me to express the extent that the 'dance' differed from the Jamaican sense of the word. It was different in a fun way! Sadly, I have no photos to tell the tale of my dancing adventure as my camera's battery died.

Sunday morning Jan an I went to the Ashmolean! It was fabulous. I have decided that I must visit again as one visit is not nearly enough to digest all that the museum has to offer. it was great!

Picture of the interior of the Ashmolean.

Sunday evening found me back in my new 'hometown'- Leeds. The weekend was great! I made new friends and made promises to visit scholars all over the UK. However, the importance of the event as to prepare me for my responsibility as a scholar was not lost and as I meet the challenges of the year ahead I am glad that I have my Rotary family every step of the way.

Shaniek

9 days and counting...

Hey everyone,

Today is my 9th day in Leeds and it has been wonderful!

Daily, I find myself exploring the city of Leeds to experience the adventures that it has to offer. My flatmates are great and we have been getting on well. Interestingly, all my flatmates are Chinese and to hear them speaking in Mandarin is now common. I see this opportunity as a wonderful way to learn about the Chinese culture.

My Mandarin flatmates, their friends and I out to dinner in Leeds

On Sunday, I visited the charming town of Scarborough. This small coastal town about two hours away from Leeds was quite a change of pace from the Leeds. It was wonderful! I visited the Scarborough castle, Ann Bronte's grave and got a chance to feel the sea breeze.

Scarborough

On Monday, I visited my host club- The Rotary Club of Roundhay. The Club was small and intimate. I met wonderful Rotarian's and was reminded that Rotary truly is a worldwide organization. The protocols of the meeting mirrored that of my sponsor Club and I felt honoured to be representing such an esteemed organization.

One Love,

Shaniek

First days in Leeds

Hey everyone!

I am writing from my wonderful student room in Leeds!

After travelling over nine hours to get to Leeds, it's was a wonderful feeling to know that I had a host counsellor and other Rotary Scholars at the University. Everything has been great since my arrival. my host counsellor and his wife have been nothing but wonderful to me! My flatmates are wonderful and assist me with getting myself situated for school.

The weather is chilly and very different from Jamaica but it is a wonderful change. I have met students from as far as Yemen, China and Australia. The campus and city are extremely diverse and I look forward to fulfilling my Ambassadorial duties here.

I am also very excited about this weekend as I travel to Scotland. Myself and Paige (another

Rotary Scholar) will be travelling to Glasgow and we will be hosted by some Rotarians.

Keep checking for all the exciting photos!

Shaniek.

England in two weeks!

Hey everyone,

I must agree that I have been silent for the last month. I must apologize as I went against my word that i would update my blog every two weeks. However, within the interim that I was silent many things happened namely:
1. I finally received my UK Student Visa
2. I have sent in all my required pre- departure documents to Rotary International
3. I have booked my flight to leave Jamaica on Saturday, September 11th

I cant wait to begin my new journey! My sponsor counselor, Mr. Chuganey, tells me that it will be a defining period of my life. I hope that the experience will allow me the opportunity to further Rotary's mission for International Understanding and Goodwill, learn about a new country and even get to learn more about myself. I am dancing with glee!

Live, Love, Laugh
Shaniek

As the World Turns

Hey everyone,

Can't believe its already mid-July! It already the beginning of the new Rotary year, installations of a new committees and the induction of new members have been underway.

My Rotaract Club, the Rotaract Club of Montego bay, like every other hosted an Installation and Induction ceremony. The event was exciting but was big reminder that I would be off to Leeds in a few weeks. I wouldn't be around to participate in projects with familiar people in my club or make jokes with now, life- long friends. I feel like a pioneer as I will be able to take all the things that I have learnt, to make a difference in another part of the world while championing the motto "Service above Self". Yep, I guess it sounds like somewhat of a super hero... luckily I like super heroes :)


Smiles all around- existing and newly inducted rotaracters at the Rotaract Club of Montego Bay's Induction and Installation Ceremony




Newly inducted members of the Rotary Club of Montego Bay pose with President Leon (extreme left) and Former Vice President Nancy (extreme right in front row)


Will keep you posted!
One Love,
Shaniek

Rotary Scholar's Seminar- Tampa

Hello Again,

The Rotary Scholar's Seminar was the best!
It allowed me an opportunity to meet many like minded individuals. I felt honored to be apart of a group of wonderful individuals that altruistically wanted to make the world a better place.
Gone was the feelings of trepidation that I would not fit in. It seems unreal but I am convinced that I have met lifelong friends.

The seminar placed many things in perspective about my role as a Ambassadorial scholar within the Rotary family. The experiences of past scholars strengthened me in my resolve to enjoy this scholarship experience completely while facilitating international understanding and goodwill.

A big thank you to the Rotary Club of Montego Bay for making my attendance at to this seminar possible.

Shaniek

Hello World!

Hello Everyone,

My name is Shaniek Parks and I am proud to be the 2010-2011 Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar representing District 7020. I am extremely excited about the adventures that are before me and as they unfold, you will be by my side to experience them with me. I wont make grandiose promises that I will update this blog daily but on a weekly or fortnightly basis you will be made aware of whatever is happening.

Peace and Love,
Shaniek